'Awarta, Beit Furik, Burin (Yitzhar), Huwwara, Za'tara (Tapuah)

Place:

'Awarta

Beit Furik

Za'tara (Tapuah)

Huwwara

Burin (Yitzhar)

Tags:

Israeli Police

Observers:

Esti W., Nava A., Translator: Charles K.

Aug-13-2015

Morning

Oranit, Huwwara, Awarta, Beit Furiq

They complained about us to the Israeli police who released us without any problem.

07:45 Oranit. Gate 1447/1448 is an agricultural gate. We arrived before the soldiers did. A few contractors’ vehicles were already waiting for workers crowded on the other side of the locked gate. A military vehicle arrived a few minutes later. Instead of opening the gate, the soldiers busied themselves organizing the area. They make the vehicles move away from the inspection shed and then come over to find out who we are.

The MP sergeant won’t let us stand there. She says it’s a closed military area and asked for our ID’s. We told her our names. We explained we’ll leave only after seeing an order from the general in command, and that ID’s must be presented only to the Israeli police. She hurriedly called for a police car.

We tried to tell her we’ve already been standing here for a few weeks, but she’s stubborn. We spoke with the DCL, which didn’t reach a clear decision.

We were pleased this business didn’t prevent the soldiers from opening the gate and allowing those waiting through.

A “foreman” holds dozens of Palestinian ID’s, and the laborers cross in groups of five to the MP’s who glance at them. There was no record entered in a laptop today either.

Finally the tractors cross and the gate closes.

08:35 The Israeli police finally arrive (the sergeant wouldn’t allow us to leave before they came). The policeman spoke to us and to the sergeant. He sees she’s stressed and sends us on our way.

08:40 When we returned to the fence we carefully read the red sign posted at the gate. It in fact reads that it’s a military area but doesn’t state entry is forbidden (like at the entrances to Area A). It does note that entry could endanger the lives of those going in but the source of the danger is unclear.

Shomron gate: Traffic flows.

09:05 Za’tara/Tapuach. A few Border Police soldiers are in the compound. Giv’ati soldiers are in the turnout by the roadside.

There is a military vehicle in the parking lot at the southern entrance to Huwwara.

Yitzhar/Burin: There is no military activity.

09:35 Beit Furiq. The checkpoint isn’t manned.

Awwarta: The yellow bar blocks the crossing, as usual.

09:45 Huwwara checkpoint. The checkpoint is operating. Two officers inspect people leaving Nablus. There is a soldier in position on the north side of the checkpoint. A Palestinian vehicle is detained and the driver taken by the roadside for questioning. This time there’s no soldier at the settlers’ hitchhiking station but a soldier observes them from above.

09:50 On the way to Yitzhar; a military vehicle is in the turnout, not hindering traffic.

10:10 Za’tara/Tapuach. There are no soldiers in the emplacements; they’ve gathered in the tower’s shade.

Shomron gate: Traffic flows.

Location Description

Checkpoint Beit Furik

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One of the three internal checkpoints that closed on the city of Nablus - Beit Furik to the east, Hawara to the south, Beit Iba to the west.
The checkpoint is located at the junction of Roads 557 (an apartheid road that was forbidden for Palestinians), leading to the Itamar and Alon Morea settlements and Road 5487. The checkpoint was established in 2001 for pedestrians and vehicles; The opening hours were short and the transition was slow and very problematic.

Allegedly, the checkpoint is intended to monitor the movement to and from Nablus of the residents of Beit Furik and Beit Dajan, being the only opening outside their villages.
Since May 2009 the checkpoint is open 24 hours a day, the military presence is limited, vehicles can pass through it without inspections, except for random inspections. (Updated April 2010)

Za'tara (Tapuah) Checkpoint

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Za'atara is an internal checkpoint in the heart of the West Bank, at the intersection of Road 60 and Road 505 (Trans-Samaria), east of the Tapuach settlement.
This checkpoint is the "border" marked by the IDF between the north and south of the West Bank, in accordance with the policy of separation between the two parts of the West Bank that has been in place since December 2005.

At the Za'atara checkpoint, there are separate routes for Israelis and Palestinians. In the route for Israelis, there are no inspections and the route for Palestinians inspects. The queue lengthens and shortens suits.

The checkpoint is open 24 hours a day. The checkpoint is partially staffed and the people who pass through it are checked at random.

Sep-28-2023

Shoshi Anbar

Za'atra (Tapuah Intersection). Signs

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Huwwara - the checkpoint and the township

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The Huwwara checkpoint is an internal checkpoint south of the city of Nablus, at the intersection of Roads 60 and 5077 (between the settlements of Bracha and Itamar). This checkpoint was one of the four permanent checkpoints info-icon that closed on Nablus (Beit Furik and Awarta checkpoints to the east and the Beit Iba checkpoint to the west). It was a pedestrian-only barrier. As MachsomWatch volunteers, we watched therre since 2001 two shifts a day - morning and noon, the thousands of Palestinians leaving Nablus and waiting for hours in queues to reach anywhere else in the West Bank, from the other side of the checkpoint the destination could only be reached by public transport.
In early June 2009, as part of the easing of Palestinian traffic in the West Bank, the checkpoint was opened to vehicular traffic. The passage today is free, but there is still a military presence in the guard tower and vehicle inspections are done from time to time.

On February 26, 2023, about 400 settlers attacked the town's residents for 5 hours and set fire to property, such as houses and cars. Disturbances occurred in response to a shooting of two Jewish residents of Har Bracha by a Palestinian Terrorist. The soldiers stationed in the town did not prevent the arson and rescued Palestinian families from their homes only after they were set on fire. No one was punished and Finance Minister Smotrich stated that "the State of Israel should wipe out Hawara." Left and center organizations organized solidarity demonstrations and support actions for the residents of Hawara.

Hawara continued to be in the headlines in all the months that followed: more pogroms by the settlers, attacks by Palestinians and a massive presence of the army in the town. It amounted to a de facto curfew of commerce and life in the center of the city. On October 5, 2023, MK Zvi established a Sukkah in the center of Hawara and hundreds of settlers backed the army blocked the main road and held prayers in the heart of the town all night and the next day. On Saturday, October 7, 23 The "Swords of Iron" war began with an attack by Hamas on settlements surrounding Gaza in the face of a poor presence of the IDF. Much criticism has been made of the withdrawal of military forces from the area surrounding Gaza and their placement in the West Bank, and in the Hawara and Samaria region in particular, as a shield for the settlers who were taking over and rioting.

On November 12, 2023, the first section of the Hawara bypass road intended for Israeli traffic only was opened. In this way, the settlers can bypass the road that goes through the center of Hawara, which is the main artery for traffic from the Nablus area to Ramallah and the south of the West Bank. For the construction of the road, the Civil Administration info-icon expropriated 406 dunams of private land belonging to Palestinians from the nearby villages. The settlers are not satisfied with this at the moment, and demand to also travel through Hawara itself in order to demonstrate presence and control.

(updated November 2023)

Feb-29-2024

Nina Seba

Huwara checkpoint - the gate is closed

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Burin (Yitzhar)

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Burin

This is a Palestinian village in the Nablus governorate, a little south of Nablus, on the main road passing through the West Bank. The settlements: Yitzhar and Har Bracha, settled in locations that surrounded the village, placed fences so it is cut off the main road.

There are around 4000 inhabitants. Most of them are engaged in agriculture and pasture, although many graduates of the two secondary schools continue to study at the university. Academic positions are hardly available, they find work as builderd, or leave for the Gulf countries.

The village lands were appropriated several times for the establishment of Israeli settlements and military bases, and as a result, Burin's land and water resources dwindled. lSince 1982, more than 2,000 dunams of village land have been declared "state land" and then transferred to Har Bracha settlement.

Over the past few years and more so since 2017, the villagers have been terrorized by the residents of Yitzhar and Har Bracha, the Givat Ronen outpost and others.
Despite the close proximity of soldiers to an IDF base close to one of the village's schools, residents are suffering from numerous stone-throwing events, vehicle and fire arson, also reported in the press.

In 2023, the prevention of the olive harvest in the village plot was more violent than ever. Soldiers and settlers walked with drawn weapons between the houses of the village and demanded that people stop harvesting in the village itself and in the private plots outside the village. The settlers from Yitzhar and Giv'at Roned raided the olive groves and stole crops. 300 olive trees belonging to the residents of Burin, near Yitzhar, were uprooted. The loss of livelihood from the olives causes long-term economic damage to the farmers' families, bringing them to the point of starvation.

(updated for November 2023)